Existing radar systems can be complex electronic and mechanical designs comprising many systems, subsystems, and components. Often a given radar design is performed at the circuit level, resulting in an architecture which is not particularly scalable to different monitoring volumes or detection applications. For example, current Doppler radar systems typically rely on stable frequency generation techniques and subsequent pulse shaping that typically require low efficiency, high cost Radio Frequency (RF) amplifiers such as klystrons, traveling wave tube amplifiers (TWTAs), or coherent solid-state RF sources.
The availability of new technology can facilitate the design of application-specific radars, while providing more generality in potential applications. Fast scalar processors and inexpensive computer memory can be useful for this design approach. Additionally, “System on a Chip” (SOC) and “Digital Signal Processing (DSP) on a Chip” (DOC) technologies can be used for modular radar system designs.